As California Gov. Gavin Newsom gallivants in Brazil with United Nations climate crisis bureaucrats, the Golden State is rapidly approaching a dreadful milestone.
As we head into the holiday, we are nearing the first anniversary of the Los Angeles area wildfires that destroyed Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Sadly, it appears that three-quarters of Pacific Palisades and two-thirds of Altadena residents remain in temporary housing. And time is running out for those whose insurance is covering the cost of renting due to displacement.
Nearly 13,000 homes were lost or damaged in the Eaton and Palisades fires. The Department of Angels, a fire recovery program launched after the fires, surveyed more than 2,300 fire-impacted residents across L.A. County and found that 8 in 10 Altadena residents and 9 in 10 Pacific Palisades residents have not returned home. That includes homeowners and renters whose houses were destroyed and those whose homes are still standing but awaiting remediation and testing for toxins.Many survivors “are being left behind, while others are spending much of their time and dwindling finances to fight for a sliver of what they lost — and often, coming up short,” the report said. The survey is the third in a series this year….Roughly 75% of surveyed Pacific Palisades residents and 67% of surveyed Altadena residents are in temporary housing. Many expect they’ll have to move again in the next few months. The report found that although residents who experienced a total loss have struggled with finding stable housing, residents who experienced structural and smoke or ash damage have had to move more frequently.For residents who lost their homes in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Malibu, 22% said they expected to move again within the next six to 12 months and 9% expected to move within the next few months. Of those residents who experienced structural and smoke or ash damage, 19% expected to have to move in the next few months and 18% believed they’d have to move within a year.Displacement coverage under insurance policies is running out.
The report cited was prepared by Embold Research in partnership with the Department of Angeles, a grassroots, nonprofit initiative founded in the aftermath of the wildfire disaster to assess community status. Among its many depressing findings is the residents’ complete lack of faith in city and state leaders. Survivors feel abandoned by government agencies and are left to navigate complex recovery processes without adequate guidance or resources.
Reviewing the information presented, I will simply point out that the race of those questioned was highlighted whenever a resident was quoted… as if someone’s skin color made a difference in coping with disaster recovery.
“This entire process has been concerning and filled with bureaucratic red tape. The city is wrong if they think thousands of people who lose everything are going to tolerate this process for several years to come and rebuild. As a community we are on the tilt of a serious crisis. There is no faith in the city or its leaders to guide and solve these problems! Change must come and quickly!” -White woman, 50-64, Pacific Palisades
Alexander Ayling, an award-winning filmmaker and digital content creator, has covered the Southern California recovery efforts. He recently posted a heartbreaking video report that confirms the research findings about the roadblocks being put up by the state and local governments.
“While editing this video and researching, I found out that the city has actually issued fines to the owners of properties destroyed by the wildfires for failure to clear brush from these lots. Imagine losing your home, perhaps after having your insurance canceled and trying to scrape together a plan to salvage what remains of your life, only to have the city hit you with a $750 fine for not cutting the grass enough on your empty dirt lot that was once your dream home.”
He also had a damning assessment of Mayor Karen Bass.
“The mayor, Karen Bass, accidentally sent her phone’s text messages to autodelete after 30 days, which is highly suspect and probably illegal. We’ll never know what her communications were during the early days of the fire, but in my opinion, she and her cronies in the city council and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are grossly incompetent and potentially criminally negligent.”
In conclusion, as we approach the one-year mark of the Los Angeles Wildfire disaster, Pacific Palisades is still a wasteland, survivors are sidelined, and broken promises pile up like the debris left behind. Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have shown us what failed leadership really looks like, with a toxic combination of disastrous policies, civic negligence, and zero accountability.
Only a Christmas miracle will get many Californians back into their homes in time for this holiday season, and I despair that the situation won’t be better at the end of 20206 either.
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